


the future is a foreign country (they do things differently here)

by staccato



Series: [redacted] but without context [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Voldemort Wins, Drabble, Gen, Ghosts, Master of Death Harry Potter, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:26:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24455149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staccato/pseuds/staccato
Summary: a chance meeting between harry, heir to the dark lord, and teddy lupin
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks
Series: [redacted] but without context [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766302
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	the future is a foreign country (they do things differently here)

**Author's Note:**

> \+ title adapted from a quote by l. p. hartley:”the past is a foreign country: they do things differently there”
> 
> \+ like most of my published fics, this is a drabble i wrote for an idea i had a year ago, tldw; harry continuously relive his life in an attempt to prevent the extinction of wizardkind. in one variation, he is adopted by voldemort to be his heir. while in diagon alley, he chances upon teddy (remus and tonks met much earlier, as the order never disbanded)
> 
> \+ oh and he can see ghosts. because master of death

Harry does not know why that small cry drew his attention, but regardless, it did. He turned his head, eyes scanning the crowd until they landed on a boy. He had collapsed on the dirty cobblestone street, and had his hands over his face; his thin frame was shaking.

He was crying.

“Your Highness?” Rosier questioned, bowing at the waist slightly to lower himself to Harry's level. “Is something the matter? Why did you stop?”

Ah, Harry hadn’t even noticed he had stilled, entranced by the boy as he was, because…

Because, hovering the boy, were two spirits: Andromeda and Sirius Black.

By Harry's side, Lily gasped. “Oh my!” she exclaimed. “James, isn't he…”

“…Moony's boy,” James finished, and that was all the encouragement Harry needed. He handed the owl cage to a confused Rosier, and stepped forward, the crowd parting to let him through. It wasn’t long until he had reached the boy's side. He crouched down.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted softly, not wanting to startle the boy. “Are you alright?”

The boy stiffened. “Who are you?” he muttered, voice muffled by the hands covering his face. 

Rosier started. “Why you insolent--!” He moved to pull out his wand, no doubt to curse the boy for not recognizing Harry and paying him his due respect. He froze when Harry raised a hand.

“It’s alright, Rosier,” he said, before turning his attention back to the boy. “I apologize for not introducing myself. I’m Harry. What’s your name?”

“…Teddy,” the boy replied hesitantly. He did lower his arms, however, and was now gazing back at Harry with teary eyes. 

“It’s very nice to meet you, Teddy,” Harry said earnestly, offering a handshake, which was accepted reluctantly. “Why were you crying, Teddy?”

“I couldn’t find my parents,” Teddy admitted, looking down. His hair turned red, as if it was blushing.

“Your parents...Ah! That would be Remus and Tonks, right?”

Teddy's head snapped up. “You know my parents?”

“Of course! Your dad and mine were best friends in school, after all. He might have talked about him? James Potter? Jamie? Prongs?”

Teddy nodded vigorously. “Papa talks about him all the time!” He shuffled closer. “Can he really turn into a moose?” As he spoke, giant antlers began to sprout from the top of his head.

“A moose?” Sirius and James yelped simultaneously. 

Harry chuckled. “Well, not a moose, but a deer.

“Wow…”

All traces of sadness had disappeared from Teddy’s eyes. The boy was now looking up at him with an expression of admiration. His eyes began to turn green, mirroring Harry’s own.

“It seems like you know a lot about my dad, Teddy,” Harry said. “How about you tell me some things about your dad, too? Over ice cream?”

“Yay, ice cream!”

Harry smiled and stood, ridding the dirt off of his trousers with a wave of his wand. With another, the ghosts disappeared from his sight. They would always exist, but right now, Harry preferred not to see or hear them. He didn’t need that kind of distraction when _Teddy_ was right here.

Hands held together, they barely stepped forward when their path was blocked by Rosier.

“Your Highness…” he said. “Are you sure about this? If My Lord hears about this…”

“I’ll be glad to deal with any repercussions that follow, Rosier,” Harry replied sharply.

Rosier still looked hesitant, but bowed obediently. “As you wish, Your Highness.”

Fortescue’s was packed with shoppers, but a glance from Harry was enough for a family to desert their table. Teddy and Harry sat down, while Crabb went to the counter with their orders: a sundae for Harry, and a milkshake for Teddy.

“Lestrange,” Harry called, and the man stepped forward with a bow.

“How may I be of service, Your Highness?” 

“Find Remus Lupin and Nymphdora Tonks. Return and report their locations to me. Do not engage them in any way.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” 

Lestrange left as Crabbe returned with their orders, balanced carefully on a tray. “Your Highness, Mr. Fortescue refused to charge anything you ordered. He would also like to express his regrets that because of the crowd, he would not able to personally serve you. He hopes you will not take offense.”

“Hmm.”

Crabbe placed their respective dishes in front of them, bowed, and returned to his place as Harry’s guard.

“Hey, Harry?” 

Harry turned to face Teddy, and found the boy staring at him with wide eyes and a slacked jaw. “Yes, Teddy?”

“Are you a god?”

Harry blinked. 

“Why do you ask, Teddy?”

“Because everyone is doing whatever you tell them to!” Teddy exclaimed. “Even the adults!”

Well, that’s true. But still…”No, I’m not a god, Teddy. They act like this because…” Harry trailed off. How much does Teddy know about the war? About the current political situation? About Voldemort and his Death Eaters, about his heir Harry? 

The answer to that is definitely no, Harry decided. For Merlin’s sake, Teddy hadn’t even recognized them.

“Because they like my father, and want to make him happy,” he lied. Although on second thought, that wasn’t so far off from the truth.

“Ehhh, your father? You mean Prongs?” Teddy asked, tilting of his head to the side. “People like him that much?”

“No, not Prongs. A different dad—my current father. I was….adopted, after my dad's death.”

“Oh…” Teddy whispered. Strands of his hair turned blue. 

“Enough about me, Teddy,” Harry said, hastily changing the subject. “Tell me about you.”

“Wellll,” Teddy dragged, and if it was an adult Harry had been conversing with, he would have been sure that this was a sign they were reluctant to speak. However, children were always happy to talk about themselves. Sure enough, at Harry's encouraging nod, Teddy began, “my full name is Edward Remus Lupin, I’m five and nine months old, and—”

* * *

It didn’t take long for Lestrange to return. But by that time, Teddy had already finished his milkshake. His hands now held an ice cream cone, 

He also hadn’t stopped talking, having moved on to describe a dream he had several nights ago, in which he was a mushroom who went on a quest with a cloud and a unicorn.

Teddy was really quite strange.

Harry adored him so much.

“Your Highness,” Lestrange interrupted, slipping through the dense crowd to come to a stop by their table, bowing at the waist. “I found them.”

Harry straightened in his seat. “Where are they?”

“Right outside of Gringott's, Your Highness.”

Harry smiled. “Good work, Lestrange.”

“It was my honor, Your Highness.”

Once Lestrange returned to his post, Harry turned to face Teddy. “Well? What are you waiting for? Let’s get you to your parents. They must be so worried.”

Teddy grimaced. He shoved the last of his cone into his mouth as he slid out of his seat. “Do you think they'll be angry at me?” he asked, taking Harry’s hand in his own. It was sticky with melted ice cream. Harry could not find himself to care about anything less.

“I’m sure they’ll just be relieved to see that you’re safe,” Harry assured him. He left ten galleons on the table as tip, more than enough to cover the cost of their food. After all, there was no reason for Tom or Harry to be known as stingy. No, it is better to be generous with their coins, They controlled the nations’ treasury, anyways.

“Yeah. You’re probably right, Harry,” Teddy agreed, as Harry led them to the door and out. The sky had darkened significantly since they first entered the ice cream parlor, and most of the shops were now closing up. He’s exceedingly grateful that he was just about to leave before he found Teddy. Tom would not be pleased if Harry neglected his shopping to play babysitter to a werewolf brat.

They found Remus and Tonks easily enough. The two were pacing in front of the stairs leading up to the bank. As Teddy and Harry approached, snatches of conversation could be heard.

“…he'll be okay, Tonks,” Remus was saying, a hand on Tonks’ arm. “He’s big boy, now, and he knows how to use his abilities.”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about, Remus! What if someone sees him changing and—?”

 _And decide to kidnap him and abuse his abilities for their own_? Harry completed, wryly. The thought did occur to him, for Tom would be pleased if he had a metamorphosis under his control. Because of his exceptional gift, Teddy wouldn’t even be treated poorly, either. In fact, Harry imagined he, as the Dark Lord’s ward, would live a better life than the one he was currently living as a werewolf, but…

But he was Teddy. He was Remus' son. And once upon a time, he had been Harry's godson, robbed of his true parents. Harry wasn’t going to rob him of this second chance.

“Papa! Mama!” Teddy screamed, ripping his hand out of Harry’s grip and flying towards his parents. “Papa! Mama! I’m here!”

“Teddy!” They exclaimed, turning around at the sound of his voice, just in time for him to slam into their legs.

“Are you alright?” Remus asked.

“Are you hurt?” Tonks continued.

“Did anyone hurt you?”

“Did anyone touch you?”

“Where did you go?”

“Did you go to Knockturn Alley?”

“How many times have we told you not to go off on your own?”

“Teddy, are you listening to us?”

“I’m fine!” Teddy chirped. He stepped back slightly and turned his head, raising a hand to gesture to Harry and his escorts were stood. “Harry helped me, you see?”

“Harry…?” Remus whispered, before he followed Teddy's line of sight and realized just who Teddy was talking about. He paled instantly. “Your Highness!”

“Your Highness!” Tonks echoed. They dropped to their knees immediately.

“Please, forgive us for our impertinence!”

Teddy gazed at his frightened parents, then at Harry, who was staring at them blankly. “Harry…?” he asked. “What’s going on? Harry, why are Papa and Mama--?”

He was cut off as Remus grabbed his arm and dragged him backwards, a hand over his mouth. “Shush, Edward!”

“Please, forgive him, Your Highness!” Tonks begged. “He is just a child. He did not know any better.”

It hurt Harry to see these two so afraid of him, but he supposed that was the price he had to pay for his selfish choices; for deciding to live this charade at Tom’s heir instead of murdering him, as he had done so many times before.

 _This is all for a better world_ , he reminded himself, fingernails digging into his palm.

“Your Highness?” Rosier questioned, no doubt taking his silence as anger. He wasn’t the only one. Lestrange was already pointing his wand at the trio.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” Harry said—to everyone’s surprise, no doubt. “You did nothing wrong. It was just disorienting to see you, of all people, kneeling before me. After all…”

He walked forward, ignoring their flinch as he neared. Stopping in front of Remus, he cupped a trembling cheek in his hand, and swiped his thumb over the scar marring his nose. “…in another life, you would have been my uncle. My godfather, even. Isn’t that right, Moony?”

Remus stiffened, and his eyes widening. “How did you…?”

“Your Highness,” Rosier interjected. “With all due respect, My Lord—”

Harry sighed, stepping backwards and letting his arm fall back to his side. “I’m aware, Rosier,” he called back, his gaze lingering on Remus for a moment longer before drifting down to rest on Teddy, who was clutched tightly in Remus' arms. His eyes no longer gleamed green. “behave for your Papa and Mama, okay, Teddy?”

Without waiting for a response—and not expecting one, either—Harry turned on his heels and left them cowering on the steps of Gringotts. He returned to his group of escorts, who were looking at him with a mixture of amusement, confusion, exasperation and annoyance. And with the confidence of the prince Tom had declared him to be, Harry ignored them all, brushing past them and heading towards the nearest apparition point. He needed to return home and think of an excuse for this incident, before Tom summoned and interrogated him as to why he would so _publicly_ help another. Especially a werewolf pup.

Because Tom would be informed of this. They had been his for the day, but it was Tom’s brand they bore on their arm. And when they do report back, they would definitely not leave out this detail. They may have spent the day calling him “Your Highness” and obeying his every command, but all of them would be glad to see him scorned.

Or worse.

He needed to think.

**Author's Note:**

> harry: tom is terrible but i need him for my plans  
> harry: i am sad but i am resolute  
> teddy: [exists]  
> harry: ...fuCK
> 
> \+ in 2016 i made a [twitter](https://twitter.com/ftnprod_suga) to read existential dan howell tweets. i am now reactivating it to see bts selcas. pls slide into my dms and be my friends :)
> 
> \+ thank you for reading. kudos and comments are greatly appreciated ❤️
> 
> \+ i hope you are all doing well. please stay safe


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